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Saturday, January 11, 2014

All in favor of spring starting immediately, say I? Motion carried. Now how do we enact this with Mother Nature?

I don't know about you, but frankly, I'm ready for spring, and as I write this, it's only Jan. 9.

From friends lamenting on Facebook about cabin fever to teachers trying crazy science experiences, I know that the last few days have been "challenging" to say the least.

Frankly, my favorite - don't try this at home without adult supervision experiments came from a couple of my teaching friends. I loved the one where you make boiling water become snow, which really does work (but note that it must be VERY cold outside, and you run the risk of being burned by water splash back if not done safely), and the "stiff as a board" frozen t-shirt.

Frankly some pictures of frozen bubbles have inspired me to have it on hand for the next really cold day.

Ah snow days. Somehow the carefree snow days of my childhood have moved into the reality of adulthood - there's really no "snow day" for adults. Work and life tend to fill in the gaps.

I know it hasn't been a popular decision at times, but after talking with Superintendent Sandy Coaly, I understand her reasoning for having canceled school in Grove - especially on Thursday.

It only takes one teacher, one student, and for that matter, one bus full of elementary students, running into difficulty, to make you realize life is short, and missing a day of school is well, not a matter of life or death.

I've been in her shoes. I've made the call when it meant more than 200 basketball players, parents and cheerleaders would miss - and not make up - an Upward Sports basketball game.

Deciding that for 200-plus individuals was hard enough - and yes, I didn't make everyone happy when I made the call for a snowstorm.

Imagine taking into account more than 2,600 students and more than 300 faculty and staff. Sandy Coaly has some hard shoes to fill in this case and I'm thankful that she is focused on the safety of GPS students and adults.

The point is this. I'm grateful to be writing a story about how the district will make up snow days, verses a story about a bus of children exposed to frostbite or worse - and I'm pretty sure, ultimately, most parents would agree they would rather read the later than the former.

Give us your opinion.

Some days, we ask questions, and get a few responses. Other days, like this week, wow, y'all have lots of opinions.

This week, we asked two questions that are still going strong, even days after the initial post on Facebook.

The first dealt with the proposed statue the Satanist would like to place on the capitol grounds featuring a seven-foot statue of what has been described as a "goat-headed demon sitting on a throne with children next to it."

The other, dealt with the city of Grove's decision to mirror the recent executive order to limit the use of electronic cigarettes on city property, well, has let us know there are some strong thoughts on both sides of the issue.

Thank you to everyone took time to share thoughts and opinions about issues raised in these question of the day. I believe it's a new form of democracy and truly lets local officials have a sampling of their constituents opinions.

So here's to snow days, snow ice cream and more. May your days be filled with laughter and humor, and may spring come quickly!